Appeals Court rules for Mason County in public meetings lawsuit

SHELTON — The Mason County commissioners did not violate the Open Public Meetings Act or break any other state law when they extended a solid waste disposal contract last year, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.

The appeals court overturned a ruling by a Grays Harbor Superior Court judge in August 2012 in favor of Belfair-based Advocates for Responsible Government. The group had alleged that the county failed to properly bid a contract extension with Regional Disposal Company, a subsidiary of Allied Waste, and had violated the Open Public Meetings Act in the process.

“We appealed the decision right after the decision came out, making the same argument we did in trial court,” said Timothy Whitehead, chief deputy prosecuting attorney for Mason County. “There’s no evidence of an Open Public Meetings violation. I think it’s pretty clear in this opinion that the Court of Appeals wants that to be made abundantly clear.”

On June 5, 2012, the board approved a seven-year contract with Regional Disposal Co. for the long haul and disposal of solid waste at a former landfill on Eels Hill Road in Shelton. Some people argued that the project had not been properly advertised and that the commissioners had discussed the contract behind closed doors.

Advocates for Responsible Government filed suit against the county, and on Aug. 10, 2012, Grays Harbor Superior Court Judge Gordon Godfrey ruled in its favor, voiding Mason County’s contract with Allied Waste and ordering the county to recommence the bidding process within six months.

The county maintained the 2012 contract while its appeal was pending, Whitehead said.

In an oral argument before the appeals court last month, Advocates for Responsible Government conceded that the Superior Court had erred in finding an Open Public Meetings Act violation.

“We accept that concession because uncontroverted evidence in the record establishes that no OPMA violation occurred,” stated the Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion filed Oct. 1.

Furthermore, the Court of Appeals ruled that the Advocates for Responsible Government and its members had no taxpayer standing to bring forth a lawsuit in the first place, because no taxpayer dollars are used to pay the county’s fees to Regional Disposal Co.

The county generates revenue to pay the company through the fees people pay for garbage service and other nontax sources.

“I’m not surprised with how this turned out,” Whitehead said. “They had no standing to bring forth this lawsuit. We made the same arguments as we did before, but this time the court sided with us.”